Last year's success has Knights, Red Riders looking for more
Plenty of pitching at core of their optimism

The West Holmes and Orrville baseball teams waited a long time to enjoy the kind of success they had in 2012.

With six starters back from the Knights' Div. II State Final Four team, and seven regulars returning from the Red Riders' Div. III Massillon Regional club both teams hope to pick up where they left off.

The teams have tasted postseason success and are hungry for more, according to their coaches.

"For the most part it's an unspoken thing that we really haven't talked about so far in our practices, but it's something everyone knows is there," said West Holmes coach Kurt McDowell, of the potential the Knights have after going 23-7 and making their first state appearance since 1966. "We have some great leaders and outstanding players, but when we have talked (about goals) we've told them that this is a whole new season and you haven't won a game yet. They're going to have to prove themselves all over again."

The Knights, who had their season end with a 3-2 loss against Wapakoneta in the Div. II state semifinals at Huntington Park in Columbus, will be led by returning senior starters Keaton Leppla (shortstop-catcher), Gabe Snyder (first base-pitcher) and Vayden Wood (second base), along with juniors Dillon Baird (P-1B) and Layne Perone (C-outfield) and sophomore Levi Jones (third base-P).

At a recent Orrville practice that coach Scott Marshall didn't think was going particularly well, he told his team, "Last year was a good year, but it doesn't guarantee us anything because this is a new season."

Like their Ohio Cardinal Conference rivals in Holmes County, the Red Riders are guaranteed to have plenty of experience in the lineup each game.

Like all great teams, though, pitching will ultimately key how far West Holmes and Orrville go and both squads appear "armed for success."

Knights' time

West Holmes graduated four players from its history making 2012 team in Cody Dial, Joey Gonzalez, Parker Herman and Mason James. The Knights lost not only some talented seniors, but outstanding leaders, McDowell said.

"We had great leaders last year, but I believe our three seniors this year can be just as good," McDowell said. "They had a great example in last year's seniors and they are really driven to duplicate what happened last year or maybe exceed it.

"As the season goes along, hopefully the team chemistry will come back."

Baird, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior nicknamed "Butch" since he was a youth, will be one of the area's most intriguing players to watch this spring -- and arguably the key to the Knights' season.

The left-handed pitcher has scholarship offers already from Louisville and Indiana State and is also being looked at heavily by the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Akron and more. His fastball was timed at 89 mph on the radar gun at the state semifinals and he also has an excellent curve ball and is trying to add a split-finger fastball this year.

Last year's OCC Pitcher of the Year compiled a 7-1 record with a 0.89 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched last year, despite missing several games with a shoulder injury.

West Holmes will count on Baird even more this season after Snyder (9-1, 1.12 ERA, 60 Ks in 62.1 IP) suffered an elbow injury during the offseason. Snyder, a Wright State recruit, has been told he'll need Tommy John surgery, but can still play this season.

"We plan on Gabe playing first base and (even with the injury) he'll be able to make the throws in the field and bat," McDowell said. "The way I understand it, he's not going to make the elbow worse and he may try to pitch some, but I'm not counting on him pitching a whole lot. It's a matter of longevity if you try to pitch with the injury, you just don't know how long someone can go."

With Snyder's role on the mound questionable, that means Baird will be counted on as the sole ace and it will be even more important to develop depth on the staff.

"It's a big role, but I've definitely worked hard for it and I'm ready to do anything I can to help my team," Baird said. "Gabe has been throwing in the gym and looking pretty good, so we'll see. We have some other guys who are throwing well, too."

Jones is back after pitching the third most innings on the team last year, going 1-2 with a 5.59 ERA in 31 1-3 innings. Newcomers Colton Shane and Scott Troyer are also pitching well in the preseason, McDowell said.

"We had two No. 1s last year, so Dillon has to step up this year," McDowell said. "With Gabe being down, we need to play great defense behind Dillon and limit his pitch count."

There's plenty of offense back, with four players who all hit .343 or better. Wood is the top returning hitter after batting .404 (36-for-89, team-high 32 runs), followed by Snyder (.355), Leppla (.352, team-high 36 RBI) and Baird (.343).

Leppla is being recruited by Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio Northern and Walsh for football, while Wood is leaning toward Muskingum and Shawnee State as a baseball recruit.

"We have a pretty good team, but still have some spots left to determine in the outfield," said McDowell, whose team was second in the OCC with an 11-3 record last year. "The first goal is to win the OCC, but obviously Orrville will be strong and Wooster and Ashland should be good, too. Clear Fork played us tough last year and I look for them to be good. Obviously, we want to get back to the state tournament, too."

Baird said last year's tournament run, which he returned from injury in to get the win in a 3-1 regional final triumph over Richmond Edison in Zanesville, has made the team even hungrier.

"We know we have the ability to do it again and that makes us have an even better work ethic," Baird said. "It's just a matter of how bad do we want it. Last year we were inches away from winning at state (a diving catch in the outfield allowed Wapakoneta to hold on) and it makes you want to work twice as hard."

Riders rolling

It's been a long time since Orrville had a baseball team with as much talent, commitment and established success under its belt coming into a season.

Riders coach Scott Marshall candidly admitted he's never had a team he's been so excited to coach as the current group that's trying to become the school's first state baseball team since 1976.

"This is my eighth year coaching Orrville and before that I was at Rittman for four years and this is the best group I've ever been around," Marshall said. "And I've coached lots of good kids at both schools in the past.

"This is just a really special group that's a lot of fun to be around. Our team GPA would be through the roof if we added it up, they play for the team and they're kids who stay out of trouble. The community and high school should be extremely proud of them."

And with ace right-handed pitchers Kerr (6-2, 1.34 ERA, 63 Ks in 52 1-3 IP) and Schley (4-3, 2.71 ERA, 50 Ks in 49 IP) both back to lead the way, Orrville fans will be tracking the baseball team's progress this spring a lot closer than usual.

Kerr and Schley are near carbon copies of one another. Both have good, but not great fastballs at around 84 mph, but make their impacts by mixing in off-speed pitches, keeping the ball low and displaying pinpoint control.

"Trevor can throw any pitch in any given count," Marshall said. "He can have a full count and drop in a curve for strike three when most high school pitchers throw a fastball in that situation.

"Stuart also has very good location and they're both excellent hitters, too (Kerr batted .381 last year, while Schley hit .364)."

Kerr, who has a 3.7 GPA and wants to major in chemical engineering, is being recruited by Div. II Trine (Ind.) and several Div. III schools.

The 6-0, 180-pound righty said last year's tournament run has the team's confidence level much higher entering the 2013 campaign.

"We have a lot of experience back from last year and the years before," Kerr said. "We know what to expect and we're not as nervous or inexperienced as we used to be.

"We know what we have to do and have confidence that we can get it done."

Kerr is a co-captain along with fellow fourth-year varsity performer Kyle Johnston, who's built himself up from a 120-pound freshman second baseman to a 5-9, 190-pound senior shortstop, who's being recruited by Div. II Glenville State.

"Kyle's lived in the weight room and along with Trevor is leading by example as a senior," said Marshall, whose team graduated standouts Alex Samson (SS) and A.J. Perez (INF-P). "We also have five juniors who will be third-year letterwinners, so we have guys who have taken their lumps but have put the time in and learned how to win."

At 6-5, lefty J.T. Perez is the hardest thrower on the team and should wind up as a college prospect himself, Marshall said.

Kerr thinks the pitching will be there, but the team needs "to put up a lot of runs, which I think we can do."

Marshall, whose team was 8-6 in the OCC last year, said it's "uncharted water" for Orrville's baseball team to be labeled as one of the top contenders in the OCC and the Div. III Norwayne District.

Like McDowell at West Holmes, Marshall will remind his team often during the season that they can't take anyone lightly.

However, all indications are that the Knights and Riders have the potential to once again make a lot of noise down the stretch.

Aaron Dorksen can be reached at 330-287-1621 or adorksen@the-daily-record.com. Follow him on Twitter at @adorksenTDR.